


Like A Two Year Contract

by ZephyrEden



Series: No Signal [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: I have no idea what I'm doing, M/M, how do you even tag?, i was trying to write this super light hearted but i don't think i'm capable, no signal au, possessed cell phones
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 21:11:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4320882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZephyrEden/pseuds/ZephyrEden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bill possesses Dipper's cell phone. It all goes down hill from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not-so-smart Phone

**Author's Note:**

> I accidentally came up with this during one of [AidaDoesDoodle's](http://aidadoesdoodles.tumblr.com) livestreams and for some reason they encouraged me to write this. As such, this Bill is based off of [her awesome design!](http://aidadoesdoodles.tumblr.com/image/122746660017)

Dipper stared at the shiny surface of his new phone, looking at his reflection in the black mirror. After breaking it while running from a Gremlobin, Mabel had insisted he get an upgrade from the ancient flip phone he had before. He tried to explain that he wouldn’t need it, that it was a waste of money when all he needed it for was basic communication, but she wouldn’t hear any of it. So here he was, sitting on his bed in the Shack’s attic, trying to set up his new phone.

He grunted in frustration and flopped back as the screen informed him once more that it couldn’t connect to the Shack’s _“nofreeloaders!”_ internet router. He glanced at the clock, cursing under his breath when he realized he would be late for class if he didn’t leave immediately. He shoved the phone in his pocket and grabbed his backpack as he peeled out of his room. He cut through the gift shop, making sure everything was in place, before flipping the sign to the closed side.

“Hey, Pine Tree!” an annoying, high-pitched voice called from behind the counter.

He brushed him off without even turning to the voice’s general direction. “Not now, Bill, I’m gonna be late!” He bolted out the door, slamming it behind him without a second thought. He quickly jumped into the rusty truck, Soos’s former vehicle that he left to Dipper when he moved to Portland to live with Melody. He fumbled for the keys, trying to grab the right one before jamming it into the ignition and driving as fast as legally possible to Gravity Falls Community College. It wasn’t fast enough.

He ran into the classroom, scrambling to an empty seat while the teacher stared scornfully at him for being late. It didn’t take long for him to zone out of the lecture, his thoughts drifting back to demon he had rushed past. He ran his hand over his face. ‘ _Yeah, probably shouldn’t have done that.’_ He already knew he was going to home to a demon that would be throwing a fit. Sure, Bill didn’t have access to hardly any of his power after being sealed into a human vessel, but he made up for it by being several times stronger than Dipper. His tantrums generally involved him tackling Dipper to the ground and laying on him, effectively pinning his body to ground, while whining about whatever was bothering him.

Last week he was stuck in the grass of the front yard for half an hour while Bill lectured him about leaving for monster hunts before feeding him. He would have told him to cook himself, but the fire department had made it clear that he was never to do that again.

He pulled out his phone to check the time only for it to not turn on at all. He glared at the empty screen. _‘You’re supposed to be a smart phone, why are you acting so dumb!’_ he mentally screamed at the device. He shoved it back in his pocket and let out a frustrated sigh as he waited for class to end.

 

▲ ▲ ▲

 

Bill flipped through the stations on the old TV set while lying on the couch upside down, savoring the blood rush that filled his vessel’s head. Watching through his left eye, he stopped on the Used To Be About History Channel – the one Pine Tree always put on. ‘ _Dumb meatsacks, thinking they actually know anything. They don’t even realize everything their talking about it wrong.’_ He watched it with disinterest for a few minutes before flipping to the channel that always showed terrible movies. He was beginning to grow frustrated. Pine Tree usually wasn’t gone this late and he had left without feeding him! His stomach grumbled as if to further the point.

That’s when he heard a vehicle pull up near the house and the engine cut. He threw his legs over his head, landing on the floor with a clumsy somersault, and floated up to the corner of the room. He listened as the front door opened, footsteps quietly echoing as something was set down in the kitchen. The brunette walked cautiously into the living room and looked around, “Bill?”

“Pine Tree!” he yelled as he pounced on him from his floating perch, slamming him into the ground as he used the entirety of his body weight to keep the human pinned.

He grunted underneath him, “Get. Off.”

The demon hummed for a moment, thinking, then rolled onto his back while keeping the kid pinned. “Nope,” he sang. “You left when I had something important to tell you and you didn’t even leave me anything to eat! You know this meatsack shell needs food to live, right?”

Dipper deflated underneath him, letting out an exhausted sigh as he did so. “Yes, Bill, I know. That’s why I brought back a pizza.” He thought back for a moment on Bill’s complaint. “You had something important to say?”

The blonde scoffed, “Everything I say is important, Pine Tree.” He felt the body struggle under him so he allowed the full force of his dead weight to keep him still. “Fine,” he relented. “Shooting Star called earlier, said she tried to call your phone but you weren’t answering.”

Dipper tried to move his arm to his pocket without success. “Bill. Get. Off,” he growled from his clenched teeth.

Sighing dramatically, he moved just enough for Dipper to grab his phone and falling back into place afterwards.

Dipper jammed the button on the front of the phone several times, grunting in frustration when it failed to respond. He slammed his face into the ground, muttering incoherently into the carpet.

Bill smirked at the human’s reactions.  “You look like you could use some help, kid.”

Cracking one eye open, he turned his head slightly to glare at the demon’s mischievous grin. “Ha. Like I need help from you,” he huffed.

“Aw, don’t be like that, Piney!” he exclaimed, stretching over the body to grab the black device. He looked it over for a moments and smiled, “I could fix this no problem!”

“Then do it,” Dipper wheezed; the demon was making it hard for him breathe.

He tapped a finger to his chin before returning to the devious smirk he had a habit of wearing. “I will… if you wanna make a deal.”

“And why would I ever want to make a deal with you?” Now he was really struggling, trying to crawl away while knocking Bill off of him. He wasn’t making much progress.

“Come on, kid, it’s been so long since I’ve made a deal!” he whined.

“And for good reasons!” He was finally able to move, cheering before he realized it was only because Bill had floated away. He met the demon’s irritated gaze. Sighing, he reluctantly asked, “What’s the deal?”

A too wide smile consumed his face. “It’s nothing really, I’ll fix your phone and in return you let me use it.”

He studied the blonde’s face, searching for any sign of deceit. “That’s all you want? Really?”

He nodded quickly, his floating body bouncing slightly with the movement. He extended the hand that didn’t hold the phone. “Deal?” his face lit up with the light from the blue fire enveloping his hand.

“I’m going to regret this,” he muttered as he shook the hand in front of him, watching the fire run from Bill’s hand to his own. Bill threw him the phone, which he fumbled before catching, as his whole body dissolved into blue flames. He shielded his eyes as the entirety of the blaze funneled into the phone, disappearing through the blank screen in an instant. He stared at his reflection in the shining surface when the phone suddenly buzzed to life.

He watched the startup screen load and practically danced when the home screen appeared. The phone buzzed several times in quick succession, showing ten missed calls from Mabel along with several texts. Before he could tap the screen to check them the phone began ringing. There was no caller ID. “Hello?”

“Pine Tree!” The voice screeched in his ear at an obnoxious volume causing him to recoil.

“Was that really necessary?” he deadpanned. Not waiting for whatever quip Bill would muster he continued, “The phone works, you can come back now.” An unnatural silence followed and Dipper checked the screen to make sure the line wasn’t dead. “Bill?” he called slowly.

A nervous laughter poured from the speaker, one Dipper had come to know meant something went wrong. “Well, you see Pine Tree –“

“Bill,” he cut him off, his voice stern. “What’s happening?”

More nervous laughter flowed from the line followed by an irritated sigh.

“I’m stuck.”


	2. Rates May Apply

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper panics while Bill acts like nothing unusual has happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the short chapters. I'm kinda absolutely terrible about writing longer things. Also, this was supposed to be a light hearted story, but I got angsty instead? I don't know, as you can tell I have no idea what I'm doing.

“What do you mean you’re stuck?” Dipper asked through clenched teeth. He was right – he was already regretting everything.

“I mean I can’t get out. I used up all my saved up power to get in here,” he stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He ran his hand down his face in a long drag then pressed his fingers onto his eyelids, massaging the headache he could already feel coming on. “And how would you go about getting more power?” he forced out in frustration.

A low humming rang in his ears. “Well…” the demon drawled, “You could always unseal me from this vessel.”

“Not an option,” was the immediate answer quickly followed by, “How would I even unseal you when your body is stuck in there?”

Obnoxious laughter - was that his response to everything? “I’m sure you’d figure it out, Pine Tree!” The laughter continued for another minute or so before it slowed to a quiet chuckle. “Welp, your only other option would be to let me build the energy back up like I’ve been doing.”

Dipper flopped into the armchair, slouching down as far as he could without falling to the floor. He exhaled slowly, suddenly a thousand times more exhausted than he was just minutes ago. Throwing his arm over his eyes he asked the inevitable, “And how have you been doing that?”

“By stealing unnoticeable amounts of it from you,” he said nonchalantly.

“What!” He leapt from the chair and his spine stiffened, all the hair on his body standing on end as an electric panic coursed through his body.

“By stealing unnoticeable amou –“ he began repeating.

“I heard you the first time!” Dipper practically shouted. “What the hell, Bill?” he added quietly, feeling a bit betrayed.

There was a moment of hesitant silence before Bill filled it with his usual exuberant attitude. “Come on, kid, don’t think about it too hard. You just happen to release a lot of extra energy and I just happened to be around to absorb it,” he explained simply, like there was nothing wrong with taking someone’s life force for their own use. “It’s not like I’m draining you or anything. All living things release energy just by living.”

Mulling over his words, Dipper began chewing on his bottom lip as he sank back into the chair. “So you’ve been taking it from me the entire time you’ve been here?”

“Not just you!” he exclaimed. “Shooting Star gives off quite a bit herself, though that’s not all that surprising.”

He clenched his fist and took a deep breath as he attempted to subdue his overprotective brother instincts. “And it doesn’t cause us any harm when you do?”

He could hear the irritation grow in Bill’s voice. “Like I said, Piney, it’s all stuff you organic matter give off naturally. I’m not just ripping the life force out of you,” he said indignantly.

“Oh…” was all he managed, feeling embarrassed about his accusation. Though his mistrust wasn’t entirely unfounded, the demon had done nothing purposefully harmful to them over the past couple years that he had lived at the Shack. In fact, he had almost tried to be helpful…  He sighed, a long drawn out exhale leaving his lungs. “How long will it take?” he finally asked.

A contemplative hum filled his ears, the low vibration buzzing in his eardrums. “I’d say… about a year?”

Great, not only was that a long time, but he wasn’t even sure if that was an accurate estimation. “A year is a long time, Bill. Isn’t there any way to, I don’t know, speed it up?”

“Time is an illusion, Pine Tree,” he stated dully. “And no, there doesn’t seem to be any way of speeding up the process. I can only absorb your energy when you’re near this dumb device, in any case.”

He was about to protest further, suggest researching a way to perform an energy transferal or something, when his phone began vibrating against his face. He pulled it away to look at the screen and was greeted by a familiar number. “Looks like Shooting Star’s calling,” Bill announced, back to his lively tone, as he let the line go dead. The brunette tapped the green icon on the screen.

“Broseph, you finally answered!” Mabel’s voice squealed from the other end. “I was beginning to worry,” she said with a halfhearted laugh.

He was instantly put at ease by his sister’s voice. “Sorry, Mabes. Today has been a bit… rough,” he offered vaguely. He didn’t need Mabel to know about what was happening yet. He was still holding out hope that he would find a way to reverse this before she got back.

Instead, she instantly called his bluff. “Bro,” she leveled, “What’s the one thing you promised me before I left?”

He sighed and began to mumble, “That if anything went wrong I would call you right away. But Mabel –“

“Uh-uh, Dip Dop, you’re not fooling me. I was originally calling to tell you that we were extending our trip by a week, but maybe I should be taking an earlier flight instead…” He could practically see her chewing on her hair, lost in thought.

“No, you don’t. You’ve been looking forward to this trip with Pacifica for months; I can handle being here for another week.” He tried his best to keep his voice steady and light, forcing the cracks back down his throat. No, she was not coming home to find out what an idiot he was.

“You’re sure? Bill’s not giving you any trouble, right?” she asked slowly, her hesitation to let it go apparent. How did she always know exactly what he didn’t want her to?

“Don’t you worry one bit, Star!” Dipper yanked the phone from his face as Bill’s voice mingled into the conversation. “I’ve been on my best behavior,” he assured her and a picture of Bill mock saluting popped in his head.

“Bill,” she was obviously surprised, “I didn’t know you were listening. Am I on speaker?” she wondered aloud.

A nervous laugh bubbled from Dipper’s lips before he could stop it. “Ha ha, yep! Speaker phone… Oh, our pizza is getting cold. I’ll talk to you later, Mabes. Bye!” He barely registered his sister’s rushed protests as he hung up. He smacked his palm to his forehead in a harsh slap then quickly ran his fingers through his hair in a rough motion. He had panicked.

“Geez, Pine Tree, I knew you were a bad liar, but that was just pitiful,” he laughed. Apparently, hanging up didn’t work on him.

“What the hell was that?” he yelled into the speaker, hoping it was loud enough to damage the demon’s hearing.

“Well, that was unnecessary,” he grunted at the assault on his ears. “And if you didn’t panic so easily, I would have been able to tide your sister over.”

“If you didn’t cut in I would have been able to handle it myself,” he spat back.

“Yeah,” Bill scoffed, “Keep telling yourself that, kid.”

He clenched the phone tightly in his fist while biting down on his bottom lip to keep himself from retorting. He took a deep breath. “It’s late,” he stated in a forced monotone. “We’ll figure this out tomorrow.” He heard Bill grunt in irritated reluctance and he attempted to end the call again. This time it actually seemed to work. He stumbled to the kitchen in a tired haze. He glared at the pizza box for a moment then shoved it into the fridge. Any hunger he was feeling was quickly shoved to the back of his mind where he refused to register it.

He dragged his tired limbs up the stairs, quickly pulling off his shorts before collapsing onto his bed face first. He brought the phone up to his eyes and stared at the blank screen, half excepting Bill’s voice to come out of it. He sighed and placed it on the nightstand beside his bed. Closing his eyes, he drifted to sleep, consumed by the unnatural silence that now occupied the Shack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so I completely lack self control so I'm not sure how often I'm going to be updating this. Considering all I do these days is watch art streams and write, I'm hoping that this updates pretty often, but since I'm working on an actual novel type thing I won't make any promises. Feedback is appreciated! :D


	3. Sorry, Wrong Number

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry Dipper, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The phone rang. Over and over and over and _why was it impossible for him to sleep peacefully!_ Forcing open bleary eyes, Dipper saw the glow of his phone as it pulsated on his nightstand. Flailing his arm, he clumsily he grasped the phone. He tapped his finger to the screen then laid it against his cheek. “Mabel?” he asked through a yawn.

“Guess again, Pine Tree!” Obnoxious laughter snapped him out of his daze.

He shot up, his eyes opened as far as possible. His head began to swim as it filled with the events of the previous night and he slowly processed everything. “Bill…” he trailed off, still trying to gather his thoughts. And then he was smacking himself in the head. ‘ _A deal? What the hell was I thinking!?’_

A bout of chuckles erupted from the speaker. “Finally remember, kid? Well, I am calling for a reason. Plug this thing in before it dies,” he demanded.

Removing the phone from his face, Dipper squinted against the harsh light to check the battery sign. The little picture had only a sliver of red color filling it. Leaning his torso halfway off the bed, he fumbled around the floor for the correct cord. Finally finding it he began to pull himself back up when his core gave out, sending him falling to the ground before he could stop the descent.

The phone clattered out of his hand, sliding across the room as an “OW” cried out from it. Pulling his legs down to floor with the rest of him, Dipper crawled across the room to grab the phone. “My bad,” he mumbled as he stifled a yawn, plugging the phone into the charger and lifting it back to his face.

A pleased hum greeted his ears. “Much better,” he sighed happily.

Another yawn passed his lips as he sat back on his bed. “Are you…okay in there?” he asked hesitantly.

A beat of silence passed between them. “Are you worried about me, Pine Tree?” he cooed sweetly, before letting his voice drop an octave. “Well don’t. Just go back to sleep.”

The line dropped, leaving Dipper to stare at the wall for a minute before sighing as he put the phone back on the nightstand and fell back into a dreamless sleep.

 

▲ ▲ ▲

 

Sunlight filtered in through the window, highlighting every particle of dust that hung in the air. Dipper blinked a few types, his eyelids sliding slowly over his eyes until he forced them to stay open. He grabbed the phone to check the time. He cursed under his breath as he jumped out of bed, pulling on a pair of shorts that were lying on the ground and slamming his hat over his bedhead. He yanked the cord out of the device, shoving it in his pocket as he slid his sneakers on and raced down the stairs. He checked the clock again – only a few minutes until he was supposed to open the shop. He rushed to the coffee pot, putting in too much water in his haste to get it going. He tapped his foot against the wooden flooring, his fingers drumming in impatience on the counter as the pot slowly filled with life-bringing liquid. After an eternity of waiting – which likely amounted to five minutes – he pulled out a mug and filled it to the brim.

He was carefully lifting it to his lips, making his way to the shop section of the shack, when his pocket suddenly began to vibrate. His flinched slightly, just enough to splash some of the scalding liquid on his shirt. He hissed as it seeped through the fabric and began to burn his skin. Setting the mug down on beside the register, he pulled the shirt away from his chest as he shoved his hand in his pocket to grab the phone. He already knew whose fault this was, but before he could fish it out another buzz pulsed against his fingers. He scanned the screen as he sprinted back up the stairs to grab a shirt from the pile of clothing sitting wrinkled in his laundry basket.

A text from Mabel appeared on the screen. **Bro bro are you SURE you’re okay there?**

He sighed as he pulled the shirt over his head, smoothing out the wrinkles as he typed back. **I’m sure.** Going back down stairs, he flipped the sign on the door and sat back behind the counter with his cup of coffee. Though it wasn’t good for business, he silently hoped that the day would be slow. He needed to figure out a plan. Running the shop with just himself and Bill had been hard enough, but now he was on his own for a week and he still had two more nights of classes.

He rubbed his fingers against his temples in small circles, trying to stimulate any amount of thought process he could muster. He was quickly interrupted by the arrival of a small group of tourists. He managed to make a flustered excuse about how his co-worker came down with the flu and as such there would be no tours that day, selling a bit of merchandise along the way. As soon as they left, he was thumping his head repeatedly against the counter. “Think, Dipper, think. There has to be some way out of this.”

The phone buzzed on the counter, interfering with his thoughts yet again. He answered the phone without opening his eyes. “Hello?”

A slight chuckle bubbled from the phone that simply stated, “Sorry, wrong number,” before hanging up.

He pulled the phone away and checked his list of calls, greeted only by an empty space at the top. About half an hour passed before a similar situation repeated – a voice, trying to be deeper than it naturally was, waiting for him to answer before saying “Sorry, wrong number” and hanging up. And so it fell into a familiar pattern over the course of the next six hours.

Finally, after the fifteenth or so call, he snapped. “ _Bill!”_ he seethed through clenched teeth. “What in the _actual fuck_ are you doing?”

He hummed nonchalantly, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Pine Tree.”

Then it hit him like a slap in the face. “Are you so bored in there that you’ve resorted to prank calling me for _seven hours straight?_ ” No, there was no way he could survive a whole week of this alone, not mention a whole year of the demon being stuck in his phone.

A melodramatic sigh rang in his ear, “Annoying you has always been my favorite past time. I’m not gonna let this stupid cage deter me from having fun.” He could almost hear the smirk in his voice.

He stood up from the stool and stretched, holding the phone against his ears with his shoulder. “I’m not dealing with this anymore. Not today, at least,” he said as he flipped the sign on the shop door and hung up the phone before the demon could protest.

He headed back up the stairs to his room, throwing the phone on his bed as he headed over to his bookshelf. He hastily scanned the titles and pulled out any demonology books he had. Carrying them back to his desk, he opened up to a fresh notebook page and turned on his computer. Research was something he could do, something he could handle. He glanced back at his bed, at the shining black surface reflecting light from the window. He opened the internet browser with a sigh – he needed to find a way to fix this. Fast.


	4. Ringtones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill finds a new way to annoy Pine Tree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dammit, I'm six minutes passed my deadline. My bad, I'm distracted too easily.

There are many things Dipper Pines was used to waking up to. Birds chirping, sunlight coming in the window, his twin calling him down to breakfast; these were all normal things to wake to.

A cacophonous symphony of strangled voices writhing in agony at 3 am is not how Dipper expected to be woken up. The sound jolted him from his slumber in an instant. His spine tingled with electric panic as he dove towards the end of his bed and grabbed the baseball bat he left there in case of emergency. On his knees, he carefully balanced on the mattress with his bat at the ready. His eyes quickly scanned every outline and shadow along the attic until his gaze locked onto the target.

“Son of a bitch,” he muttered under his breath, discarding the bat as he went to the glowing light on his nightstand. Sliding his fingertip along the cool glass surface, he lifted the phone to his ear. “Are you fucking kidding me?” He didn’t try to hide how his voice dripped with disdain.

“Huh? Pine Tree? Why are you awake? It’s three in the morning.”

His grip on the phone tightened to the point that he would have been worried about breaking it if he wasn’t absolutely _infuriated_ right now. “Bill, I will find a way to get you out of there just so I can exorcise you.”

The demon feigned a lilt of fear in his voice, “Oh, Pine Tree you’re so scary when you’re woken up too early.”

“This isn’t too early, Bill,” he deadpanned. “This isn’t even morning. I literally fell asleep an hour ago.” He gingerly reached up to rub the sleep from his eyes. “I’m awake now, what do you want?”

“What are you talking about it?” he questioned, his confusion evident. “I was just messing around with these ‘ringtone’ things in here. Nothing quite like the screams of the damned, huh?”

Falling back on his bed he sighed, “Nope, nothing at all.” An awkward silence stretched between them for a few moments. “Well, if you don’t need anything then I’m going back to sleep. _Please_ don’t wake me with screams again.”

A dark laugh bubbled from the speaker, “I wouldn’t dare. Sweet dreams, kid.” The line went dead.

Dipper froze at the words before putting the phone back in its place and turning his back to it. He knew deep down that the demon’s words were just that – words. He had no power to affect his dreams or mindscape anymore, but there was that seed of paranoia in him that refused to go away. Squeezing his eyes shut, he forced the thought down like a bitter pill that stuck in his throat.

 

▲ ▲ ▲

 

Dipper sat behind the counter, his check lying against the wood. He stared at the mug before him in a haze, too tired to actually pick up the cup and lift his head to drink it.

Though he had fallen back into a dreamless sleep, he was restless. He woke up constantly, moving to find a comfortable position while wasting the precious hours available to him for sleep. Once he finally found a good spot, he could swear he heard the screaming again. But right when he would sit up he knew that there was no sound. If anything, everything was quieter now that Bill was trapped.

The silence didn’t last for long. In fact, it seemed to be the exact moment that he relaxed when that the screaming began again. He jerked up too quickly, losing balance and sending the stool toppling over.  He laid on the floor for a moment as he tried to control the pounding that threatened to rip through his chest. He hoisted himself up slowly on shaking legs as he reached for the phone. He read Mabel’s name on the screen and promptly brought it to his ear. “Hey Mabes, wh-“

“Heya, Piney! Look! I figured out to change the names in this thing,” he stated proudly.

He froze before taking an agonizingly slow breath in. His hand gripped the phone tightly in reflex as he tried to calm himself. “Bill, change it back,” he demanded in a rage concealed monotone.

“And why should I do that?” the demon questioned and he could practically _feel_ the smirk curl against his ear.

He grasped the edge of the counter in an effort to lessen the pressure he was putting on the phone. “Do. It,” he bit out harshly as he hung up and slammed the phone down next to his mug, making sure the screen was facing down in case Bill managed to keep the call going.

He chugged his steaming beverage in a rush before leaning back, covering his eyes with his forearm. Today was going to be a long day.

 

▲ ▲ ▲

 

Taking down an entire pot of coffee in record time, Dipper shoved the needed books into his ratty brown backpack as he prepared for his night classes. He rubbed his eyes roughly, trying to remove the sleepiness that had settled behind his lids. Not only was he utterly exhausted, but if Bill’s actions throughout the day were to continue then he would need to be on his guard.

The demon had made sure to keep him on his toes. He constantly called with a variety of IDs, leaving Mabel’s out of it, and sounded off the song of screams whenever he could – preferably when he somehow knew there were customers there. He had gotten more than a fair share of dirty looks and glares today from people who were scared half to death from the sound. How he himself hadn’t gone into cardiac arrest was a mystery in and of itself. Even when he attempted to turn down the volume, or shut it off completely, the demon retaliated by turning it up to full blast.

He shuffled over the grass to his truck, starting it up before sinking back into the seat. He pulled out his phone and gazed at it hesitantly before going to type in the number. Just as he was about to hit the call button, the phone unleashed the piercing sound of a thousand screams. He flung his hands quickly to his ears, something he was prone to doing today, as he slid his finger on the screen to answer. “Dammit, Bill!” he yelled, his heart still pounding from the outburst. The demon laughed heartily at the reaction.

He leaned forward, resting his head on the steering wheel. “Bill,” he appealed quietly, his low voice catching the demon’s attention. “I have to go to school. I only have a couple weeks left and I _really_ can’t have any of this happening during class.” There was no response. “Please,” he pleaded. He didn’t like having to beg for anything, especially to Bill, but he couldn’t deal with these outbursts anymore.

Another beat of silence passed before a dramatic sigh left the speaker. “Fine,” he mumbled begrudgingly.

Dipper waited for a minute to hear a catch, a deal, _anything_. But there was nothing. “Thank you, Bill,” he exhaled happily.

“Yeah whatever, kid,” he grumbled in return before hanging up.

With that out of the way, Dipper shifted the truck into drive and headed to the college. He arrived a few minutes early, taking his seat and pulling out a notebook. He scanned his small amount of handwriting from the night before. There wasn’t much he had been able to find out. Everything that involved demons or other supernatural being sealed into objects had been the work of some second party controlling the magic. Needless to say, normal possession didn’t really apply to their situation either. The only way a demon would be stuck in whatever they were possessing was if, again, a second party sealed them. Which led them back to square one.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Dipper resigned himself to half listening to the lecture. His thoughts still wandered, trying to figure out some new angle he could research. The teacher droned on in a monotone and as the minutes ticked by it was getting more difficult to fend off sleep. He could feel his shoulders slump, his eyes growing heavy with his lessening resolve. His eyes fluttered shut for a moment of restful bliss.

A sharp poke on the back of the neck had him sitting straight up, wide awake with a stiffened spine. A hushed giggle sounded behind him. He turned slightly in his seat to look at his classmate, a girl with short angled black hair who had a hand slapped over her mouth. Her eyes crinkled with a smile as she motioned for him to pay attention. He mouthed a quick ‘thank you’ before returning his eyes to the front of class.

He tapped his fingers against the laminated panel of faux wood that made up his desk, the remaining nub of his nails quietly clicking against the surface. He drummed them faster, his speed increasing as the minutes left dwindled.  The professor glanced at the clock on the wall, knowingly going a few minutes over the class time to finish the lecture. As soon as he finished, almost every student stood as they shuffled around, trying to get out in a late night daze.

He turned to the girl behind, Stacy if he recalled correctly. “Thanks for waking me earlier,” he said sincerely.

She laughed brightly at him. “No problem, sorry for sticking you with my pencil,” she said shyly. She stared at him for a moment before catching herself and averting her eyes. She gestured under her eyes, “You should really get some more sleep. I won’t always be here to wake you up,” she beamed, then flushed at her own comment. “Oh geez, I’m so sorry.”

He held his hands out placatingly and shook his head. “No, no, you’re right,” he smiled back. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by an obnoxious pop song coming from his pocket. Reaching into his pocket, his looked at the screen that showed no ID and placed it on the desk, ignoring the call.

“Do you need to get that?” she asked timidly.

“Nah, it was a wrong number,” he easily lied. Bill had bothered him all day; it would be fine to ignore him for a few minutes after hardly any social interaction in the past month.

“Oh, okay,” she laughed nervously. She fiddled with the ends of her hair as she searched for the words she needed. “Well, ummm, since exams are coming up soon, I was wondering if you might like to study with me?” her voice rose slightly at the end.

Dipper was taken aback for a moment. Was she…. _flirting_ with him? He didn’t have time to dwell on it as his phone rang at full volume, playing some cheesy love song. He tried to ignore it, but noticed her eyes widening as she looked at the phone.

“O-oh, oh god I’m sorry,” she sputtered, flushing as she quickly turned away and rushed out of the room.

He looked at her quizzically then turned around to look at the cause of the problem.

Oh no.

_Hell_ no.

There was a name on the screen now, that was for sure. Bill’s caller ID took up most of it, the whole of his name surrounded by hearts and kissy faces while an image of the shirtless demon gazed at him seductively.

Nope, he was not dealing with this right now. He slid his finger over the ignore button and shoved it into the depths of his backpack. Throwing it on his shoulder, he sprinted out to his truck. He started it while ignoring the constant ringing from his bag, a furious glare fixated on the road ahead. He made it home in no time, yanking the door open roughly before running upstairs to his room. He dug around his bag for the phone and – just his luck! – the screaming had started again. He yelled out in frustration before answering it.

“Bill! What the _hell!?_ ” he shouted. “It was literally just a few hours. What is wrong with you?” he couldn’t stop the rage that filled his tone.

“A few hours?” Bill yelled back, obviously just as enraged. “You were talking it up with that meatsack while I’m stuck in this _dying_ machine!”

Dipper wondered how he even knew what he was doing as he glanced at the screen. The battery was back to that sliver of red after charging just a day ago. “Well I’m sorry,” he drawled sarcastically. “I’ve barely talked to anyone in a month and the one person who I did interact with is now _stuck in my phone_ ,” he spat the last words out in spite.

“And who’s fault was that?” the demon screeched.

“Yours!” Dipper called back just as harshly. “You were the one who wanted the deal. You were the one who got stuck in the phone. And aside from that, I liked that girl!” Granted, he didn’t know much about her, but she was cute and shy and at this point that was good enough for him. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve been in a relationship?” he seethed, “And you just ruined what was likely my only chance at one in this town!”

“Relationship? With her?” he scoffed. A low chuckle escaped the speaker, low and dark. “Don’t tell me you were seriously falling for the rom com crap, kid! She was playing you!” There was no response. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice. She and all her friends make fun of you. She was asking you to study because she’s failing and thought she could _manipulate_ you into helping her,” he stated matter-of-factly.

Dipper didn’t have a response to that. “How would you know?” he asked quietly, his empty hand clenching tightly into a fist.

“Why does it matter? The point is that I do and I just saved you from making a mistake. You can thank me later,” he said with a snarky voice.

“So what?” he replied calmly. “Being manipulated by her would be better than being bothered all day by you.” He shut his mouth as soon as the words came out, but it was too late.

“Oh,” the demon replied coolly. “Is that what you think? Lemme tell you, kid, no one may talk to you, but they all talk about you. How the only reason you’re doing well is because you’ve taken the class before.”

“Stop,” he said quietly.

“How you live in the dump of a tourist trap on the outskirts of town.”

“Stop,” he stated clearly.

“How you have a weird birthmark on your forehead.”

“Stop,” he growled now, anger seeping into his voice.

“How your sister is only hooking up with a Northwest to use her money.”

“Stop!” he screamed. His body moved on its own, his arm moving back before hurling the phone at the wall as hard as he could.

The sickening crack was much different from that of breaking bones, but now it wasn’t much different. Dipper’s eyes went wide as he stared at the device, the broken pieces of glass lying around the shattered surface of the screen. He walked over slowly, not daring to make any noise. He squatted down beside the device while being wary of any sharp fragments on the ground. “Bill?” he squeaked.

In response, the line went dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me, I can't write lighthearted shit.


	5. Cellscapes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill tries to get a handle on his current situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I'm so sorry this took so long to get out. I bragged about how I couldn't get overworked from writing only to immediately get overworked from writing, so my brain's been dead for a couple days. I hope this chapter makes up for it!

White. Everything was white. Everything coated in a blinding light, yet nothing giving off shadows. The space was too open and too suffocating at the same time.

And there was no way out.

He tried walking. Just picking a direction and going. It seemed like he had been at it for ages, but he hadn’t gone anywhere. He stared down at his feet to make sure they were moving. It didn’t matter if they were or not. He wasn’t going anywhere.

Bill had tried to get out the same way he got in, but he already knew that he was nowhere near the energy levels he needed to be at. That didn’t stop him from trying, though. It was only once the blinding light began to dim that he realized the predicament he was in. He couldn’t supply enough of his own power, so he was taking it from the device instead. That made sense. The only question was what would happen if he ended up taking too much.

He didn’t care to find out.

With a wave of his hand a transparent panel appeared before him. He tapped the call button and rang up Pine Tree. No answer. He tapped it again. And again. And again. He dragged a hand down his face in frustration, something in the back of his mind taking note of the strange sensation, before hitting the button once more. As he listened to the rings again, he mused to himself over a way to wake the kid up faster. That’s something he would definitely need to look into.

“Mabel?”

‘ _Finally!’_ “Guess again, Pine Tree!” he laughed, more out of frustration than anything.

A few moments of silence passed while the kid pieced everything together. “Bill…” he trailed in a half conscious daze.

He laughed, imagining the look of shock and terror on his face as he recalled the night before. “Finally remember, kid? Well, I am calling for a reason.” The smile immediately dropped from his face as he deadpanned, “Plug this thing in before it dies.”

Another beat of silence. Bill sighed, knowing he was most likely checking the battery life himself. Some quiet background noises drifted in through the speaker followed by a loud crash. The noise reverberated through the white void, the vibrations raking through the demon’s body in disorienting waves. He clutched at his head, nails digging into his scalp as he released an undignified “OW!”

He could hear footsteps padding towards the speaker then Pine Tree mumbling, “My bad.”

A soothing wave of heat, reminiscent of a desert breeze, swept through the space as the lights brightened once again. “Much better,” he practically purred, too lost in the foreign feeling to realize his own reaction.

The boy yawned as he hesitantly began to ask, “Are you… okay in there?”

Oh. This was an unexpected reaction. He could feel the corners of his mouth quirk upwards as cooed, “Are you worried about me, Pine Tree?” One glance around the void and he let his voice drop, “Well don’t. Just go back to sleep.” A quick hand gesture and the panel was gone. No, there was no reason to let the kid know what was really going on.

He let himself fall back, expecting to hit the ground after a moment. Instead, the floor rose beneath him and caught him on a cushioned surface. He quickly looked around. There was barely even a discernable difference between the ‘bed’ and the floor. The lack of shadows in the place only added to it, making everything feel unnatural. As soon as the thought completed itself, he watched long shadows stretch across the floors and walls, suddenly giving everything depth and dimension.

He stared at the floor quizzically for a minute. “Chair,” he stated clearly, listening to the crisp echo that resounded. In front of him a white chair formed from the floor, not unlike the one in the Shack. So, he could manipulate this place to a certain degree. That was good to know. He wondered how far he could go.

Quick hand movements and short commands were all it took to arrange the place how he wanted it. He pushed the walls further out, created a large bed and a low coffee table that sat in front of the chair. Unhappy with the recliner, he swiftly changed it to a wingback. He tried to bring some color in, but everything stayed in its stifling white monotone. Irritated, he walked over to one of the walls. He wanted to make a window. How that would work in here, he had no idea, but he was intent on trying regardless. Running his fingertip lightly over the area he wanted it, he commanded it to be with a forceful tap.

The triangle that he traced faded and flickered before showing him what appeared to be a wooden ceiling. The image shook for a moment as it shifted to Pine Tree’s face, obviously just waking up if the dull look he had was anything to go by. He watched his eyes widen and his lips move in silent curses as the phone was tossed upside down against the pillow as he jumped out of the bed.

Bill covered his mouth with his fist, half stifling a laugh, as he watched the kid trip over his own legs as he attempted to grab the pair of shorts on the floor and pull them on in his rush. He slapped his hat over his disheveled hair and grabbed the phone.

The blonde was now aware of the abrupt end to the heat wave, whimpering slightly at the lack of feeling that settled over him. The window went dark as the phone was presumably shoved into a pocket. He could hear the rustling of fabric, the drawl of the old coffee pot, and the kid’s _incessant_ tapping. He cringed at the noises that lasted for several minutes, sighing in relief when it finally stopped.

He waved his hand, pulling the panel up next to him. If he could control what was inside the cell, then who was to say he couldn’t do the same to the outside? The fact that he could make calls seemed to further solidify that theory. He swiped through the screens before reaching what he thought would be a good test. Placing one finger on the translucent display, he made the phone vibrate once. A hiss sounded before a hand was reaching towards the phone.

Another buzz went off. Bill looked around, knowing this one wasn’t his doing. He turned back to the window to see the brunette’s disgruntled expression and the splash of coffee covering his shirt. Another chuckle escaped his lips as he ran his fingers along the panel again. He hummed, seeing the text from Shooting Star on the screen and watching as Pine Tree’s typed response appeared.

Waving the panel away, he watched the kid rub his temples in frustration as he tried to make that human brain of his work. He didn’t miss the groan that came out when a few tourists came and began pestering him about tour times. The demon snickered as the kid flustered out an excuse about how his coworker was sick and they wouldn’t be having tours that day. As soon as they left, he resorted to banging his head against the counter, muttering something unintelligible under his breath.

This was no good. Sure, Bill loved seeing the kid torment himself over something he deemed his fault, but this was quickly getting boring. He recalled for a brief moment something Shooting Star and her friends did one night when they were having one of their infernal _sleepovers._ Ringing up Pine Tree, he waited for a greeted before laughing out “Sorry, wrong number” and hanging up. The incredulous look on his face was gold. Oh yeah, this would keep him entertained for a while.

 

▲ ▲ ▲

 

It was a simple thing really. He wasn’t exactly sure how it had all worked, but by summoning the memory of the sound he wanted he was somehow able to make it a tangible thing; something that could be downloaded into the phone’s memory and replayed back. And that was his intention. He stared at the option that now appeared below ‘Ringtones’. Piney usually kept his phone on silent, but this was just perfect for whenever he needed the kid’s attention. He made sure to try it out several times throughout the day, reveling in the frustrated screams and pounding heart rate the ringtone caused. The kid even tried to find a way around it, but that only seemed to further Bill’s knowledge of what he could do in this place. It didn’t take long for him to figure out how to mess with the contact information or change the volume levels.

He was lying back on the bed, the panel floating above his head. He was beyond bored. The kid had practically begged him to lay off while he was in class and since this vessel technically had a heart he reluctantly agreed. At least he was stuck in the kid’s pocket so he could absorb any stray energy for him. The only good bit of luck he had with this situation thus far was that this cell of his didn’t disrupt his power flow. He sighed as he watched the lights around him flicker and dim. The kid forgot to plug the phone in last night.

That’s when he saw them. They glowed softly in the shadows, little pinpricks of light out in the distance. His body began to run before he even had time to register the movements. It didn’t matter, though, because even without seeing the star-like lights nearing him he could tell he was actually going somewhere. He reached one of the lights, the small orb floating in front and giving off gentle wisps of electric power. The moment he touched it he could feel his body being thrown, a sensation akin to teleportation while lacking the intensity of having every molecule of your being disassembling as it moved through space and time. He looked around, but everything looked the same. No, no something was off. Everything felt a bit… empty. A flick of the wrist and the panel was in front of him.

Unlike the clear panel he was used to, the one appeared to be pink with hearts floating around it. He scrunched his nose in slight disgust before flicking through the dozen tiles littering each screen. He tapped lightly on the message icon that displayed a ‘2’ to show the unread texts. A list of names appeared in the conversation, none of which were important enough for Bill take note of. What was important was the subject of the discussion – Pine Tree.

Apparently, they had gotten grades back for something and he was at the top of class. Some of the texts at the top were simple complaints that he was allowed to sleep in class because his grades were so good, but they quickly spiraled out of control. Some of them talked about how he had failed the class a few semesters ago and had finally worked up the nerve to take it again with the younger students this semester. The talk then went to how trashy his place was, making jokes about the elder Pine that used to run it and how they were both just good for nothing scammers. Then one of them asked if they had seen the birthmark on his forehead. Some of them laughed while asking about it, another making some sick comment about how he must have carved it into his skin because something like that couldn’t be natural. One pointed out the contrast between him and how good looking his sister was before one of the girls started going off about she was just using her looks to get the Northwest to bring her to the bank, stated nothing else could be the case after looking at the dump the Pines twins lived in. That’s when they began to speculate that the boy wasn’t so different from his female counterpart, that he was probably sleeping with the teacher to keep his grades up.

That’s when the girl who owned the phone he was currently in decided to chip in. She joked that she would do the same after the failing the grade she received on the last grade. That got the group going as they quickly joked that she should just go for Pines instead, that he would be easy to go after and cheat off of. None of them had ever seen him with anyone else, so they pegged him for some lonely loser who would jump at the chance to help out a pretty girl. She seemed to agree pretty quickly.

Oh no. Bill was not having this. His body had turned red long ago, both eyes opened and glowing in fury. The air around him hummed with static energy as every nerve in his body practically vibrated. He was _livid._ No one talked about Pine Tree like that. No one. And he would make sure that each and every one of them was aware of that when he got out. Without a second thought he bolted back to the orb of light and let his body be ripped from the current device back to his. He opened up the window and listened carefully to conversation happening as the light’s dimmed even further, inching towards darkness.

He pulled up the panel and scrolled through the ringtones, finding one he remembered Star listening to on repeat for a few days before she left. He agreed to no screams, not to no interference. He quickly swapped out the ringtones and called. He watched the kid look at the screen before disregarding it and placing it behind him on the desk.

He clenched his jaw as his anger continued to seethe. He was trying to _help_ the kid for once and this is what he got for it. He began to grind his teeth as he listened to the girl flirt and he knew he had to do something. Pine Tree was too dense; he would fall for this too easily. The demon may have even pitied him if he wasn’t one of the sources fueling his rage. Then another of Star’s ideas flashed through his mind. He wryly admitted to himself that would have to thank her when she got back and maybe leech off any other good ideas she had.

He recalled the way Blondie’s contact looked in Star’s phone as he quickly copied it with his own name. For good measure, he even added the picture he had taken early. Sure, his original intention was to see how badly he could fluster the kid in front of customers the next day, but this seemed to be a worthy cause to sacrifice to. After all, it was no secret how attractive his human form and even Pine Tree would get caught with staring occasionally. So if this would both catch the eye of the girl trying to make a move on his Pine Tree while simultaneously staking his own claim on him, then it was worth it. Adding some love song he heard playing on the radio as of late, he smirked to himself as he called again.

Oh yes, the reaction the girl gave him was definitely worth it. And next time class rolled around he would make sure everyone knew. The mortified look the brunette threw him was just a delicious bonus.

And now he was being ignored and thrown in a bag. The demon calmed himself down. Maybe that wasn’t the best course of action. He needed to be rational in both his explanation and excuse. The light in the space was quickly receding and a bit of panic nagged on the edges of his frayed nerves. He really _did not_ want to find out what would happen if this thing died. It was dark enough now that he could barely see and the only light available was the one emanating from his body and the panel in front of him.

He needed to be charged now.

He quickly switched back to the screams and sounded it off like a panic alarm.

“Bill! What the _hell!?_ It was literally just a few hours. What is wrong with you?”

Pine Tree was pissed, that was for sure, and it only served to push aside any panic or rationale and bring back his own rage. “A few hours?” he screeched. “You were talking it up with that meatsack while I’m stuck in this _dying_ machine!”

“Well I’m sorry,” the kid dragged dramatically. “I’ve barely talked to anyone in a month and the one person who I did interact with is now _stuck in my phone_ ,” he spat harshly.

“And who’s fault was that?” he spat back before thinking, his hands balling into fists as the red flooded his skin.

“Yours! You were the one who wanted the deal. You were the one who got stuck in the phone. And aside from that, I liked that girl!” Oh, now the demon was furious. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve been in a relationship?” he shouted. “And you just ruined what was likely my only chance at one in this town!”

He let out a dry, sarcastic laugh. “Relationship? With her?” he sneered. The chuckle that fell from his was positively wicked as he thought back to the conversation he had read. “Don’t tell me you were seriously falling for the rom com crap, kid! She was playing you!” Looks like the kid didn’t have a comeback for that, but it didn’t stop him from talking. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice. She and all her friends make fun of you. She was asking you to study because she’s failing and thought she could _manipulate_ you into helping her.” Just the thought of it had his skin prickling.

“How would you know?” The question was spoken quietly, but there was no mistaking the accusation in its edge.

The kid didn’t really need to know that. “Why does it matter? The point is that I do and I just saved you from making a mistake. You can thank me later,” he quipped, irritated by this entire conversation and he was becoming more aware of the encroaching darkness by the minute.

“So what?” he spoke calmly.  “Being manipulated by her would be better than being bothered all day by you.”

And now his last strain of self-control was gone. He could feel the grin curve further up his face and he knew there was no question that he looked absolutely crazed and sadistic in the moment. “Oh,” the word curled off his lips easily. “Is that what you think? Lemme tell you, kid, no one may talk to you, but they all talk about you. How the only reason you’re doing well is because you’ve taken the class before.”

“Stop,” the voice was quiet.

“How you live in the dump of a tourist trap on the outskirts of town,” he continued. Somewhere in the back of his head he knew he should stop, but that was no longer a viable option.

“Stop,” he stated, but was promptly ignored.

“How you have a weird birthmark on your forehead.” His claws dug into the flesh of his palms at the memory. He couldn’t wait to rip that one apart.

“Stop,” the kid snarled now angrily.

But he couldn’t. Any impulse control he had was disabled at the beginning of this argument.

“How your sister is only hooking up with a Northwest to use her money.”

“Stop!” The scream brought him back to his senses and he silently cursed himself before he knew what was happening.

The echo crashed through the cell first, the demon slamming his hands to his ears in reaction to the reverberation before the sound of cracks and crunches followed. He knew what it felt like to break bones. This was different. He lifted his finger to bring up the camera so he could look at himself, gasping unintentionally when tiny pieces of his hand fell to the ground like broken glass. In the light provided from his body, he studied his reflection. His body was shattered. Tiny spider webs made of cracks pulsed out from two origin points – one under his right eye and another on the left side of his torso. He lifted his hand to touch them, to assess the damage, wincing slightly as more shards fell from varying points on his body. It was then that he realized what was so strange about this place.

It didn’t leave him completely unfeeling like his demon state, but it lacked the intensity of his human form. Like he was stuck somewhere in between. He could still feel what was likely agony, it writhed and coiled right below his skin, but all he was really aware of was the itch that consumed his body.

“Bill?”

There was only one way he was fixing this and he didn’t need the kid interfering. With a broken wave, a large portion of his forearm falling away in the process, he ended the call. Now he was really relying on his power reserves given that the device itself had hardly any juice left. No, he needed to suck it up and get this over with quickly before the device died completely.

He could feel the seal over his right eye ignite as he pushed at its bounds and dug for every ounce of energy stored in his vessel. It burned through the itch and he used the feeling as a focal point as he let the azure flames consume him, enveloping both his body and the device he was stuck in. It seeped through every crack, slowly closing them as it replaced anything that was missing. The itch slowly receded, allowing the agony to wrack his body instead.

The second the last chip was healed he fell to his knees, panting at the complete loss of power as he sank into the darkness around him. With a weak motion he brought back the panel, hitting a button without looking.

“Bill? Are you okay?!”

He looked up to see Pine Tree’s face, obviously panicked. He looked down at the panel. ‘ _Shit.’_ He didn’t even realize there was a video call option on this thing. He really didn’t need to be seen like this, to be seen while so weak. He forced grin on his face as he grasped the edge of the screen for some leverage. “Plug this thing in now,” he demanded with a smile.

He watched the brunette nod quickly as he scrambled for the cord. The second it was plugged in the light thrummed back to life and he heard a startled gasp. Right, now the kid could actually see. He could see the all-white surroundings and the shattered pieces of his body lying around him along with the smoke that was likely rising from the seal.

“Bill, I’m s-“ he tried to apologize.

The demon held his hand up to stop him as he beamed happily, “Don’t ever do that again.” He brought his hand down, closing all the panels as he collapsed. He hummed in gratitude as a bed rose to meet his falling body before he resigned himself to unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the rehash wasn't too terrible. I most likely won't write another chapter like that, but I felt it was necessary to give insight to Bill's predicament and show off how he goes about doing things from his cell. Also, I literally just finished typing this chapter, so if you find any mistakes please feel free to point them out so I can fix it. 
> 
> AND THANKS TO ALL YOU GUYS WHO HAVE LEFT KUDOS AND COMMENTS YOU GUYS HAVE ME CONSTANTLY SQUEALING AND HIDING UNDER MY BLANKET WHILE I SMILE LIKE AN IDIOT <3


	6. Please Leave A Message

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper realizes that everything feels off when there's not a demon around to pester him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my holy shenanigans, I am so so SO sorry that this chapter took forever to get out and it's really short. But seriously...
> 
> THIS. GODDAMN. CHAPTER.
> 
> It really didn't want to be written. I'll try really hard to not let there be as long as a gap between this chapter and the next one <3

He stared at the phone on his nightstand as he attempted to will his brain to shut down. His hands were still shaking. Was he really just supposed to go to sleep and pretend none of that just happened? The image off Bill flashed behind his eyelids, the bright white space that surrounded him almost blinding him. He thought about the little pieces of glass that around him, that looked like they had broken right off his body even though there was no visible damage. He just looked so…tired.

He lifted his hands to his face, studying them. He ran his fingertip over the thin scratch on his palm where a stray shard had nicked him then looked to the mess of glass that remained on the floor. It was his fault, he had done that. He threw an arm over his eyes and sighed. He wasn’t usually like that, but the second he brought up Mabel…

He jolted, sitting up straight as he remembered what he driven him in the first place. The words churned in his head, Bill’s voice repeating them over and over again. Sure, Bill could be an ass, but would he really just say those things to hurt him? And why would he want to hurt him in the first place? For not charging his phone?

_“Lemme tell you, kid, no one may talk to you, but they all talk about you.”_

Was that really true? He was used to getting bullied and teased when he was in middle school and even occasionally in high school, but this was college. Weren’t these people supposed to be adults? _‘People never change,’_ he thought, a sad smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He glanced at the phone again, the smooth surface absolutely pristine as it reflected moonlight from the open window.

He turned away, rolling on his side to face the wall. _‘Never.’_

 

▲ ▲ ▲

 

The sunlight warmed his face and wormed its way under his eyelids. Groaning, he rolled over, pulling the blanket above his head and ducking beneath his pillow. ‘ _Wait…’_ He threw the pillow to the end of the bed and glanced out the window. He grabbed the phone to check the time, jumping up and dressing quickly as he realized he had slept in late. Again.

Heating up some left over coffee from the previous day, he made his way into the shop and flipped the sign before settling behind the counter. He made an attempt to rub the sleep from eyes, sighing as he remembered the date. Mabel would be back in a few days and he had no idea how to fix anything yet. He glanced at the phone beside him, still in shock that the screen had been completely shattered hours ago.

Pressing the button on the side, he checked the time as the screen lit up. It was a bit past noon, business had been slow, and Bill hadn’t tried to bother him at all yet. Not that he was complaining, but it felt a bit… strange. Even when he was physically there, he made it point to drive him crazy.

The image of Bill flashed across his mind once again. He sighed, unlocking the phone and clicking his name in the call log. He sneered as the picture covered his screen. He’d need to change that later. He listened to the ringing continue for a minute before it went to a robotic voice mail. Huffing, he hung up and redialed, reaching the voice mail once more. He dropped the phone back on the counter, running a hand through his hair as he leaned back on the stool.

A few tourists walked in and he quickly took care them, explaining once again that his coworker was out sick and tours were cancelled until he got back. Ringing up a few bumper stickers, he smiled his thanks and waited for the door to close before picking up his phone again. He tried to call a few more times before moving on to texting.

He stared at the keyboard, wondering what he should say. He was still angry about last night, his blood boiling when he replayed the conversation in his head, but his own actions were uncalled for as well. He decided against apologizing just yet.

**Are you okay?**

He tapped his fingers along the counter in impatience, staring at the phone and waiting for it to light up with a response. He watched it constantly, eyes barely leaving even when dealing with customers, and counted down the minutes to closing. He dialed the number throughout the day, never getting an answer and eventually settling for leaving voicemails ranging from annoyed complaints to sincere worries.

“Fine,” he hissed to himself under his breath, shoving the phone into his pocket. He flipped the sign on the door in a huff, spinning on his heel after locking up. He stomped into the kitchen, quickly scanning the refrigerator for something to eat though he had no appetite. He slummed into a chair at the kitchen table and pulled out the phone again. He stared at it for few minutes, contemplating his next move. His brain continued to tell him to just let it go and go back to his research, that if Bill wanted to give him the silent treatment then he should do the same.

Finally resigning himself to doing just that, he trudged up the stairs and settled in front of his computer. He skimmed the windows he already had open on the screen, still focusing most of his research on object possession, but they all said things he already knew. Nothing that would help.

He took out his notebook and jotted down a few notes anyways, scribbling down anything that could end up being remotely useful in the future. He clicked through web pages in a trance, reading but not absorbing any information. Hours passed slowly as he refused to give into sleep, doodling triangles on his notebook paper. He blinked a few times, realizing half of his page was covered in the obnoxious shape. Sneering, he quickly ripped the page from the notebook, crumpling it into a ball before throwing it in the trash can.

He attempted to stifle the yawn that forced its way through his lips. Reluctantly, he pushed away from the computer, stretching his arms over his head as he sat on the edge of his bed. His eyes glanced over at the phone sitting on the nightstand. Against his better judgement, he picked up the phone and pressed the main bottom. The screen lit up and showed the time to be after midnight. He rubbed his eyes with the back of hand, irritated that there were no missed calls or new messages.

He took a breath. ‘ _One more time, just one more time’._ His thumb swiped over the screen, pressing Bill’s name in the call list, before lifting the phone to his ear. He listened to the dial ring out several times, sighing as he prepared to end the call.

The line picked up, though silence was all that followed.

He held his breath for a moment. “Bill…?” he questioned skeptically.

“Pine Tree,” he ground out, his voice a mixture of angry growling and complete exhaustion. “I swear to whatever god you believe in that I will make your life a living hell if you call one more time.”

His shock from the situation quickly folded back into irritation. “I wouldn’t have to call so many times if you would just answer the first time!”

The demon let out a disgruntled sigh. “I’ve kinda been busy _being unconscious!_ ” he snarled.

“Well that’s not –“

“Dipper? Who are you fighting with?”

Dipper stopped midsentence, turning slowly to the door where his jet lagged sister stared at him incredulously while wiping her eyes with her sweater sleeve.

“Mabel…” he trailed quietly. “Why are you here?”

She gave him a pointed look before looking around the room. “And where’s Bill?” she asked through a yawn, completely ignoring his question. “I didn’t see him downstairs…” She locked eyes  with Dipper’s terrified gaze.

“Tell Shooting Star I said hi,” the demon cheered loudly with forced enthusiasm, the call ending and the room falling into silence right after.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I should never be allowed to write fics ever. I'm absolutely terrible about staying in character so please drag me through the freaking dirt and criticize the crap out this. And yes, this fic is going to continue because I hate myself.


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